


Into the Wreckage

by Rythen



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Cinder is mentioned briefly, F/M, pumpkin spice ice cream, ruby is just mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 15:07:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6525187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rythen/pseuds/Rythen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roman Torchwick was not a good person, but somehow, someway, he had found something he truly cared about.</p><p>There's a lot of fics on how Neo reacts to the events of 3x11, but what about Roman's thoughts?<br/>(Open to better title suggestions, this one is a spin-off of another fic's title)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into the Wreckage

**Author's Note:**

> This just kind of... happened, really.

Roman Torchwick was not a good person.

One couldn't live the life he had led up to this point and continue to delude themselves to believe they were good. First and foremost, he was a liar and a cheat - both traits that weren't inherently bad, but most certainly not good, especially seeing as how it was always for his own personal gain. Secondly he was most certainly a thief. Usually small thefts, but sometimes he raised the stakes a bit. Food, clothing, Lien, Dust, maybe a couple of vehicles, possibly weaponry, and he may have stolen military equipment once or twice. Atlas has plenty of firepower - no harm, no foul.

Although he may have led people towards their demise, Roman had never actively murdered anyone. Well, he had not killed anyone without reason, at least; defending yourself was definitely a good reason and you did what you must to survive.

Survive was certainly something he had done well through his years and it helped that do-gooders were nauseatingly passive when it came to detaining criminals - it was always the other crooks you had to look out for. Men with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Men just like himself, really.

No, that was a bald-faced lie.

Roman Torchwick was not a good person, but somehow he had managed to find something to lose.

Something he had never expected to find, and honestly something he had never wanted, had found it's way into his life. 

It was supposed to be a casual partnership, something that lasted for only a few months at best, but they had just managed to work so well together. Everything about her - size, ruthlessness, and semblance - was made for a life of crime. She could have easily worked alone, but Roman had connections - connections he had spent many years forming, and between the two of them, there was almost nothing they could do.

That is, until the fiery bitch in red came along. 

Up until that point they lived by their own rules, by their own means, and answered to no one. Now they had no choice.

Now his partner had been whisked away to Mistral leaving him in Vale to orchestrate a string of Dust thefts for reasons that were not disclosed to him. 

But it seemed she was important enough for Cinder to keep close, and it was unlikely she would be thrust into anything more dangerous than she could handle, and so he wasn't too worried about her. He was, however, highly entertained with the idea of her trying to fit into a school setting. She'd have to fight, but she would have to hold back, and _that_ would be difficult. Many scenarios had danced through his head, wondering how she would handle situations; Neo sitting quietly through hours of class, Neo being forced into social gatherings, Neo having to tolerate her own teammates, Neo, Neo, Neo...

Dust, he had started to miss her.

He wondered if she had been sleeping well - it wasn't long after they had met before he had found her curled up next to him in the mornings, awakened by nightmares, and comforted by his presence. Eventually they had stopped lying to themselves and begun sharing a bed, and in time things just went further and further until he could no longer imagine life without her. 

His orders were fun, at least, hiring cheap men and being the mastermind behind a string of thefts. Lonely, but fun. 

It would have been a lot _more_ fun if children didn't keep pretending to play hero and interrupting him; at this point seeing a cop was preferable over those colorful brats. Another bitch in red had decided to enter his life, one that was much more openly volatile. One that was a lot more obnoxious.

Roman was not one to take murder upon himself unless necessary, and the idea of killing a child was certainly not one he enjoyed, but damn if Little Red wasn't testing his limits. Four times now he had been interrupted by her and her friends. Having a robbery interrupted was fine, things worked out in the end and he had only lost what was essentially cannon fodder. Second was at the docks, although two of her animal friends had initiated that problem. Things still turned out fine in the end with the added bonus of being reunited with his partner soon after. After that he felt as though nothing would get under his skin, until the same pair of Faunus infiltrated his meeting with the White Fang, the exact same group of children destroying the paladin he had stolen.

Even tonight things had been looking up, until a message from his Neo popped up on his scroll, letting him know that their dear friend had appeared once again. Preferably, for the last time.

If nothing else, he could count on Neo to deliver the finishing blow, finally disposing of the pest.

But fate had a different plan. It seemed criminals really weren't allowed to remain happy.

In that moment he snapped. With all the Grimm in the sky, the Grimm littering Beacon, he was not certain that Neo could survive the fall, and so he became scared. Now he was determined to finally take down the thorn in his side. It was almost admirable, really, how determined she was to stop him - to stop Cinder, but it was a stupid endeavor. He _would_ get rid of her, and that infuriating spirit she had.

"You got spirit, Red. But this is the real world!"

He knocked her to the ground. Child or not, it didn't matter anymore - his partner's fate was uncertain and it was all _her_ fault.

"The real world is cold!" 

Melodic Cudgel hit her curled frame square on the side that time. Living the rest of his life without her would be cold and dark. Of course he wouldn't just give up - she would never have let him do that - but nothing would be the same. 

"The real world doesn't care about spirit!"

She retaliated that time, knocking him backwards and enraging him further. Why was she still fighting? No weapon, no backup, and even if she had defeated him, what then? Could she land safely? Could she pilot the bullhead?

"You want to be a hero? Then play the part and die like every other Huntsman in history!" 

She had stood back up, but Roman knocked her to the ground once again. All he wanted her to do was quit. Run away, fall unconscious, die, whatever it took to get her out of his hair so he could focus on locating Neo. All he wanted was to find Neo and take her home. Fuck Beacon, fuck the White Fang, and fuck Cinder especially - Neo's safety and well-being was his priority.

"As for me, I'll do what I do best: lie, steal, cheat and survive!"

He didn't even feel pain, just darkness. 

Although he knew it was crazy, he could have sworn he saw Neo - felt her, even - before he lost consciousness. He apologized to her, although he knew she would never hear. Apologized for letting her get hurt, apologized for letting them get into this mess, and apologized for leaving her so soon. Although they knew this life would leave them dead earlier than a boring, quiet life in the city, they had always expected to go out together. 

They had a great run, really; they had spent many years by each other's side, living their life of crime, and yes, they had definitely fallen for each other. 

Roman Torchwick was not a good person, but he did know love.

His only regret was not being able to say good bye.


End file.
